Counter-Strike 2

FAQ

Q: How does the Intel Core i9-14900K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combo rank for Counter-Strike 2?

A: This combination ranks 2003rd out of 3719 tested combos for this game, placing it in the lower-middle portion of the database. The ranking reflects that while the CPU is exceptionally strong, the GPU's mid-range positioning holds back the overall result.

Q: What is the strongest resolution for this combo in Counter-Strike 2?

A: At 1080p with Low settings, the combo achieves 382 FPS average, which is the highest measured result. This is 45 FPS higher than the next-best setting at the same resolution (Medium at 317 FPS), indicating the game becomes increasingly CPU-bound at lower resolutions.

Q: How does the RTX 4060's VRAM capacity affect performance?

A: The GPU has 8 GB of GDDR6 memory on a 128-bit bus with 272.0 GB/s bandwidth. For Counter-Strike 2, this capacity is adequate across all tested settings, as the game is not memory-bound at any resolution, with the lowest average FPS at 4K Ultra still hitting 68 FPS.

Q: How does the i9-14900K's core configuration influence Counter-Strike 2 performance?

A: The CPU has 24 cores and 32 threads with a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz. The high boost clock and substantial L3 cache of 36 MB (shared) are particularly relevant for FPS titles, where single-thread performance drives frame rates.

Q: What is the FPS drop from 1080p to 4K at High settings?

A: At High settings, the combo delivers 237 FPS at 1080p, 157 FPS at 1440p, and 88 FPS at 4K. This represents a 63% reduction from 1080p to 4K, showing that higher resolutions increasingly shift the bottleneck toward the GPU.

Q: Is the RTX 4060's performance close to its nearest rivals in general benchmarks?

A: The GPU's average benchmark score is 17,639, with rivals like the AMD Radeon HD 7790 at 17,666 (0.2% higher) and the AMD Radeon 780M at 17,588 (0.3% lower). These differences are marginal, indicating the RTX 4060 sits in a tightly contested performance band.

How This Combo Ranks

The data places this Intel Core i9-14900K + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 combination at rank 2003 out of 3719 tested combos for Counter-Strike 2. That is a percentile position of roughly 46%, meaning slightly more than half of all tested configurations deliver higher average FPS in this title. The ranking is not flattering, but context is essential: the CPU is a top-tier part, while the GPU is decidedly mid-range.

The i9-14900K sits at the 95th percentile among all CPUs in the database, with an average benchmark score of 79,097. Its nearest rivals include the Intel Core i9-14900KF at 79,371 (0.3% higher), the Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus at 79,574 (0.6% higher), and the AMD EPYC 7413 at 80,041 (1.2% higher). The only rival it beats by a meaningful margin is the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395, which scores 77,740 (1.7% lower). This CPU is unmistakably elite.

The RTX 4060, however, sits at the 61st percentile among all GPUs, with an average benchmark score of 17,639. Its nearest rivals are tightly clustered: the AMD Radeon HD 7790 at 17,666 (0.2% higher), the AMD Radeon 780M at 17,588 (0.3% lower), the AMD Radeon Pro 560 at 17,551 (0.5% lower), and the AMD Radeon Pro 460 at 17,509 (0.7% lower). The GPU is not a top performer; it is a competent mid-range part.

The combination rank of 2003 reflects this imbalance. In a game like Counter-Strike 2, where frame rates are highly sensitive to both CPU and GPU, the pair produces solid but not outstanding results. The CPU has headroom that the GPU cannot fully exploit, particularly at higher resolutions where the graphics card becomes the limiting factor. The data suggests that pairing this CPU with a stronger GPU would yield a dramatically better rank, while the current configuration leaves performance on the table.

GPU Role

The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 is built on the AD107 chip using TSMC's 5 nm process, with 18,900 million transistors on a 159 mm² die. It features 3,072 shading units, 96 texture mapping units, and 48 raster operation pipelines, alongside 24 ray tracing cores and 96 tensor cores. The base clock is 1830 MHz, boosting to 2460 MHz, with memory operating at 2125 MHz (17 Gbps effective). The 8 GB GDDR6 memory uses a 128-bit bus, delivering 272.0 GB/s of bandwidth.

For Counter-Strike 2, the GPU's role becomes more pronounced as resolution increases. At 1080p, the graphics card is not the primary bottleneck; the CPU's strong single-thread performance keeps frame rates high across all settings. The difference between Low and Ultra at 1080p is 382 FPS versus 184 FPS, a 198 FPS gap that shows the GPU's rendering load does matter even at this resolution, but the absolute numbers remain high.

At 1440p, the GPU's workload grows. Low settings yield 253 FPS, while Ultra drops to 122 FPS. The gap between settings widens relative to 1080p, indicating the GPU is becoming more influential. At 4K, the GPU's limitations are fully exposed: Low produces 141 FPS, but Ultra falls to 68 FPS. The 73 FPS difference between Low and Ultra at 4K is the largest relative drop, confirming that the RTX 4060's 8 GB VRAM and 128-bit bus are adequate for the game's needs, but its raw compute power constrains high-detail 4K performance.

The GPU's 61st percentile ranking among all GPUs aligns with these results. It is not a high-end part, and in a game that rewards high frame rates, the RTX 4060 delivers playable but not exceptional performance at 4K Ultra. The 68 FPS average at that setting is acceptable, but competitive players will likely prefer lower settings or lower resolutions to push frame rates higher.

Measured FPS Breakdown

At 1920x1080, the combo delivers its strongest results. Low settings produce an average of 382 FPS, Medium drops to 317 FPS (with a minimum of 270 and maximum of 365), High yields 237 FPS, and Ultra falls to 184 FPS. The progression from Low to Ultra shows a 198 FPS reduction, or roughly 52%, highlighting how much headroom exists at the lowest settings.

At 2560x1440, the numbers remain impressive but show the GPU's growing influence. Low averages 253 FPS, Medium 210 FPS (minimum 179, maximum 242), High 157 FPS, and Ultra 122 FPS. The gap between Low and Ultra is 131 FPS, a 52% drop from the Low figure, consistent with the 1080p scaling pattern.

At 3840x2160, performance becomes more constrained. Low still delivers 141 FPS, which is playable for most users. Medium averages 117 FPS with a minimum of 100 and maximum of 135. High drops to 88 FPS, and Ultra bottoms out at 68 FPS. The spread from Low to Ultra at 4K is 73 FPS, a 52% reduction, mirroring the relative scaling seen at lower resolutions.

The data shows that Medium settings offer the best balance of visual quality and frame rate across all resolutions, with the minimum FPS figures (270 at 1080p, 179 at 1440p, 100 at 4K) remaining above the 60 FPS threshold even in the most demanding scenario. For competitive play, Low at 1080p yields the highest possible frame rates, but even Ultra at 1440p exceeds 120 FPS, which is sufficient for most displays.

Resolution Scaling

The FPS drop from 1080p to 4K is consistent across all settings, indicating a predictable scaling pattern. At Low settings, the transition from 1080p (382 FPS) to 1440p (253 FPS) represents a 34% reduction, while 1440p to 4K (141 FPS) is another 44% drop. From 1080p to 4K, the total reduction is 63%.

At High settings, 1080p yields 237 FPS, 1440p drops to 157 FPS (34% lower), and 4K falls to 88 FPS (44% lower than 1440p). The 1080p-to-4K reduction is 63%, identical to Low settings. At Ultra, the pattern holds: 184 FPS at 1080p, 122 FPS at 1440p (34% lower), and 68 FPS at 4K (44% lower than 1440p), with a 63% total drop.

This consistent scaling strongly suggests that the GPU is the primary limiting component at higher resolutions. The CPU, with its 6.00 GHz boost clock and 36 MB L3 cache, is more than capable of feeding frames at 1080p, where the 382 FPS Low result demonstrates immense headroom. As resolution increases, the GPU's pixel and texture processing requirements grow, and the RTX 4060's 15.11 TFLOPS FP32 throughput becomes the constraint.

The fact that the percentage drop is nearly identical across all settings reinforces this analysis. If the CPU were the bottleneck, the scaling pattern would differ between Low and Ultra, as lower settings would shift more load onto the CPU. Instead, the uniform 63% reduction from 1080p to 4K indicates a GPU-bound scenario at higher resolutions, while the CPU-bound nature of 1080p Low (382 FPS) shows the processor's dominance at lower loads.

CPU Role

The Intel Core i9-14900K is a 24-core, 32-thread processor based on Raptor Lake architecture, manufactured on Intel's 10 nm process. It has a base clock of 3.20 GHz and a boost clock of 6.00 GHz, with 80 KB of L1 cache per core, 2 MB of L2 cache per core, and 36 MB of shared L3 cache. The CPU supports both DDR4 and DDR5 memory via a dual-channel interface and uses PCIe Gen 5 with 16 lanes.

For Counter-Strike 2, the CPU's contribution is substantial. The game is known for being CPU-sensitive, particularly at lower resolutions where the GPU has less work to do. The 382 FPS result at 1080p Low demonstrates that the i9-14900K's high boost clock and large cache are well-suited to the game's single-threaded tendencies. The 6.00 GHz boost clock is among the highest available, and the 36 MB L3 cache helps reduce memory latency, which is critical for maintaining high frame rates.

The CPU's benchmark scores reinforce its strength. In Cinebench R23, it scores 39,399.5 multi-core and 2,262.5 single-core. In Geekbench, it hits 21,697 multi-core and 2,655 single-core. The PassMark single-thread score of 4,697 is particularly relevant for gaming, as many FPS titles rely heavily on single-core performance. The CPU ranks at the 95th percentile among all CPUs, confirming its elite status.

However, the data shows that the CPU is not the limiting factor in this combo at higher resolutions. At 4K Ultra, the 68 FPS result is clearly GPU-bound, as the RTX 4060 cannot keep pace with the CPU's ability to issue draw calls and process game logic. The CPU's headroom is substantial; pairing it with a more powerful GPU would likely push frame rates much higher, especially at 1080p where the CPU is already delivering 382 FPS on Low settings.

In summary, the i9-14900K provides exceptional single-thread and multi-thread performance that more than meets Counter-Strike 2's requirements. The bottleneck in this pairing is the GPU, particularly at resolutions above 1080p. The CPU's 24 cores and 32 threads are overkill for this game, but the high boost clock and large cache are exactly what an FPS title needs to maximize frame rates. The data indicates that this CPU has significant untapped potential when paired with the RTX 4060.